Wine, Alcohol, and Drunkenness in the Bible

2018-02-16

Drunkenness is a great evil that must be exposed for the sin it is. Let us look at the reasons why drunkenness is evil, and why any alcohol is always wrong.

Drunkenness Leads to Poverty

For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. (Proverbs 23:21)

A drunk shall become poor, according to this verse. People who get consumed with alcohol often lose their jobs because of their addiction, whether they are hungover at work, late, or not showing up. They hurt the ones they love and push them away and are left alone. They will spend all that they have fulfilling their addiction, left without money, without friends and family, and without a job. Who wants to hang around a drunk? They are not dependable because they are given to alcohol.

Drunkards Not Allowed in Christian Company

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. (1 Corinthians 5:11)
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

If you are a Christian and are a drunk, you are living exactly like the world. You can expect church discipline and excommunication if you are a drunk. Christ saved us from sins like this; we cannot continue in them. Look also at the types of sins with which drunkenness is listed. Drunkenness is wickedness.

Drunkenness Distracts from the Coming of the Lord

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Romans 13:11-14)
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. (Luke 21:34-35)

We know that the Day of Christ, or the rapture, is coming, and the events that are leading up to that time. If you spend your time as a drunk, the day will come “as a snare” upon you also.

Service to the LORD and Drunkenness are Incompatible

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. (2) And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. (3) Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. (4) And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. (5) So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. (6) And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. (7) And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. (8) And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, (9) Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: (10) And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; (11) And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. (Leviticus 10:1-11)

This passage implies that Nadab and Abihu had drank wine or strong drink (Leviticus 10:9); otherwise, why is this commandment in this narrative, which is entirely about the sin of Nadab and Abihu? Let us look at some of the main points.

  1. They did something that God specifically told them not to do. God had prescribed the way they were to offer incense and sacrifices, and Nadab and Abihu did it wrong. One’s judgment is compromised when drinking alcohol. Leviticus 10:1
  2. They died because of their sin. Being drunk contributed to their sin. The sin of drunkenness is not an excuse for other sins; the consequences for sin remain. Leviticus 10:2
  3. Priests are commanded not to partake of wine or strong drink when in the LORD’s service. Death would be the result. Leviticus 10:9
  4. Drunkenness impairs judgment concerning what is holy and unholy. The drunk will compromise on what is holy and do things he would never do otherwise. Leviticus 10:10
  5. Drunkenness impairs communication. One cannot teach if they are drunk. They will not be able to communicate the truths of the Bible at all if being impaired. Leviticus 10:11
  6. Drunkenness impairs testimony. If one is a drunk, not only will he not communicate well with his words, but he will not communicate well by his actions and testimony. He is a hypocrite and will do damage to the Lord’s testimony. Leviticus 10:11

This is the same with us. We are “an holy priesthood” and “a royal priesthood” as Christians (1 Peter 2:5, 9), and Jesus Christ made us “kings and priests” (Revelation 1:6). Our responsibility is greater than that of the Aaronic priesthood.

If we try to serve the Lord drunk, we can assume we will have similar consequences. If we are drunk, we also will not know the difference between holy and unholy, and sin in ways we would never think we could. In slurred speech we will not be able to share the Gospel, and whatever is understood by the hearer would cause the Lord’s name to be blasphemed.

Drunk Preachers Are False Prophets

If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. (Micah 2:11)
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. (Isaiah 28:7)

Any preacher (which is the same word as prophet) who claims to be from God and is a drunk is a false prophet.

Drunkenness Makes You Vulnerable

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. (Habakkuk 2:15-16)

We mentioned previously that booze makes one sin in ways you had never imagined. This verse shows that perverse people give booze to others to violate or hurt them. You open the door to this if you are a drunk. This happened to Noah (Genesis 9:20-24).

Wine is a Mocker

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)

Wine will make us mockers or full of rage. Who has not seen people affected by booze this way?

Not All Wine in the Bible is Alcoholic

Wine in the Bible may be either juice of alcohol. The context determines what it is. The word alcohol does not appear in the Bible, and the word juice appears once in a poetic passage (Song of Solomon 8:2).

Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all. (Isaiah 65:8)

Juice straight from the grapes is called “wine” here. It is called a blessing. When sick, it is good to drink something with some electrolytes in it, as in Timothy’s sake:

Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. (1 Timothy 5:23)

When fermentation begins to happen, we are told not even to look at wine:

Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? (30) They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. (31) Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. (32) At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. (33) Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. (34) Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. (35) They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. (Proverbs 23:29-35)
  1. The drunk has many “issues.” They have woe, sorrow, contentions, and babbling. In other words, they are depressed, have inner turmoil, and talk and slur foolishly. Proverbs 23:29
  2. Fermented wine has a certain look, and we are to not even look at it. We will fall if we give booze much thought. Proverbs 23:31
  3. Fermented wine has a certain taste. It does not taste like the juice from grapes or other fruit. It has a certain burning taste to it. Proverbs 23:32
  4. Fermented wine leads you to strange women. A strange woman is first defined as a harlot in Judges 11:1-2. This means you are likely to indulge in some sort of immoral relationship with women. Proverbs 23:33
  5. Fermented wine leads you to say perverse things. What terrible things might you say in the presence of these strange women? Proverbs 23:33
  6. Fermented wine leads you to stagger about. On the sea, one cannot stand up as well because of the waves. The dizzy drunk has the same problem. Proverbs 23:34
  7. Fermented wine leads you to addiction. Even after all the horrible experiences one has, they are more inclined to keep on drinking booze with every drunken episode. Proverbs 23:35

Jesus Did Not Enable Drunks in Cana

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: (2) And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. (3) And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. (4) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. (5) His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. (6) And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. (7) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. (8) And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. (9) When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, (10) And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. (John 2:1-10)

This beginning of miracles was a notable one; Jesus changed the chemical composition of the water in the waterpots into wine, which we know must be non-alcoholic juice. The people at the wedding had a lot of wine already (John 2:10). Drunkenness is clearly taught in the Bible as wickedness, as we saw already. Do you think that Jesus, the Son of God who was without sin (Hebrews 4:15), would purposefully cause people to get drunk? Clearly this is not the case. Therefore, He created fresh juice, far tastier than what they had previously, which caused the governor to express how impressed he was.

The Purpose of Strong Drink

And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household (Deuteronomy 14:26)
And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering. (Numbers 28:7)

The purpose of strong drink is for drink offerings. Money could be used to exchange for animals and drink if you travel a long distance to Jerusalem, and this includes the drink offering.

Condemning Booze Does Not Make You Weak

It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. (Romans 14:21)

When someone brings out this verse to defend their alcohol habit, they do not take into account the larger context. When it comes to foods, drinks, or days, nothing is more special than the other, and one is not more clean or unclean than the other: “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean” (Romans 14:14). It is not a matter as to whether alcohol is unclean or not, it is a matter of whether alcohol causes real harm to people, and it does, as we have seen already. Meats, juice, and days do not hurt people; alcohol hurts people.

Things I Have Witnessed Concerning Alcohol

I have seen men urinate on a computer and in an oven. I know someone who was drunk, fell, and he cracked his head open. After unsuccessful surgery, he died. People have gotten naked publicly, and women have been molested. Drunks have said perverse things to innocent people. A man hung over the toilet in a daze, watching it overflow on to the floor. A woman had to go to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. One became paralyzed and cannot walk because he was in an accident with a drunk driver when he was a small child. Two men were sent to the hospital for days because of overdrinking at a party, and only by the grace of God did they recover.

The above were people that I knew. When you drink alcohol, you might turn out like the people above. Do not look at the booze. Do not hang around night clubs and bars. Do not send your children away to college, where booze is everywhere. You cannot serve the Lord and be a wicked drunk. And if you think you can drink booze without being drunk, think again: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). You can never be completely sober without complete abstinence.